Sweet Carolina

Class. Poise. Mental toughness. Big-play ability. They are all hallmarks of the Forty-Niners franchise.

Sunday, those qualities were stolen by the Carolina Panthers.

In the game that likely settled the NFC West, it was the Panthers who played like five-time Super Bowl champs. It was the Niners who played like an expansion team.

The Panthers’ 30-24 win featured:

- A great performance by quarterback Kerry Collins, who threw for 327 yards and three first-half touchdown passes as the Panthers abused Niners cornerback Tyronne Drakeford and took a 27-17 lead.

- A fourth-quarter defensive stand after a missed field goal attempt seemed to give the Niners the momentum with an interception by former 49er Eric Davis halting what had seemed to be a classic Steve Young-led comeback.

- Most of all, 15 San Francisco penalties, including five personal fouls and one ejection. The Niners looked more like the Raiders and were left questioning themselves and reaching for excuses about being too hyped-up.

“We came unglued, too much ‘in your face football’ ” said coach George Seifert.

For the Panthers, it was a reaffirmation that they are for real. They had listened all week to talk that Carolina’s 23-7 win over San Francisco in September had been “an aberration” and that the Niners had been “flat.” But while they seethed inwardly, the Panthers were determined to keep their mouths shut.

“They took the role that we should have taken,” said Carolina linebacker Lamar Lathon. “None of us said a word. It wasn’t necessary. We knew we had to come in here and take care of our job in a hostile environment.”

With the Niners defense so tough inside, the Panthers knew they had to pass to win the game and they found a pigeon in Drakeford, who began to give up big plays. He allowed a 39-yard completion to Mark Carrier on the first touchdown drive, was called for holding and gave up a 26-yard completion to Willie Green on the second TD drive and then allowed a 50-yard strike to Green and a 20-yard touchdown to Green on back-to-back plays in the third TD drive.

Packers 41, Broncos 6

They shook hands before the game. Then John Elway watched Brett Favre carry the Green Bay Packers to a division title.

It was feared that with Elway nursing a hamstring injury, the game could turn into a rout, and it did.

Favre had four TD passes, while Antonio Freeman and Green Bay’s aggressive defense stood out as the host Packers clinched the NFC Central title.

It’s the first time in 29 years they’ve won consecutive division crowns.

With six-year veteran Bill Musgrave making his first NFL start in place of Elway, the Broncos saw their nine-game winning streak end. Still, at 12-2 they already have home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs, which is why Elway sat out.

Cowboys 10, Cardinals 6

At Phoenix, Michael Irvin had eight catches for 198 yards and Troy Aikman was 15 of 24 for 255 yards.

But it was the defense, without the suspended Leon Lett and missing Deion Sanders for more than a half because of back spasms, that kept the Cardinals out of the end zone by forcing four turnovers.

Steelers 16, Chargers 3

Pittsburgh remained unbeaten at Three Rivers Stadium as the defense got five sacks on Sean Salisbury, who was replacing injured Stan Humphries. Mike Tomczak threw to Andre Hastings for an 11-yard touchdown and Norm Johnson had field goals for 49, 39 and 21 yards for the Steelers.

Buccaneers 24, Redskins 10

At Tampa Bay, the Buccaneers rushed for a season-high 209 yards - 117 above their average - to hand Washington its fifth loss in six games since starting 7-1.

Trent Dilfer threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Jackie Harris, Mike Alstott scored on a 13-yard run and Michael Husted kicked three field goals for Tampa Bay, which has won five of nine after starting 0-5 under first-year coach Tony Dungy.

Jaguars 23, Oilers 17

At Houston, Natrone Means ran for two touchdowns, and the Jaguars’ defense stuffed a fourth-quarter rally as Jacksonville remained in the playoff picture in its second year of existence.

Patriots 34, Jets 10

At Foxboro, New England posted its third dominating victory in a row and set itself up for a playoff bye with its win over the Jets. The Patriots clinched a playoff spot and lead Buffalo by a game in the AFC East.

The Patriots scored on four of five first-half possessions to take a 20-3 lead at intermission.

Vikings 24, Lions 22

At Pontiac, Mich., Brad Johnson’s three touchdown passes kept Minnesota even in the race for the last two NFC wild-card spots, and the Vikings held on for a victory over Detroit.

Barry Sanders, who moved up to No. 7 on the NFL’s career rushing chart, picked up 134 yards on 20 carries. With 11,472 career yards, Sanders is just 16 yards shy of Kansas City’s Marcus Allen.

Giants 17, Dolphins 7

At Miami, Rodney Hampton ran four yards for a score and Howard Cross caught a 1-yard TD pass from Dave Brown to help New York reduce Miami’s already slim playoff chances. The Dolphins have lost three in a row and are in danger of posting their first losing season since 1988.

Bears 35, Rams 9

At Chicago, Rashaan Salaam ran for 115 yards on 19 carries and scored twice for the Bears. The Rams were held to less than 13 points for the eighth time this year.

Bengals 21, Ravens 14

At Cincinnati, Jeff Blake threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Tony McGee with 3:14 left, then the Bengals stopped the Ravens at the 1-yard line with 23 seconds remaining to seal the win.

Falcons 31, Saints 15

Bobby Hebert came back to New Orleans and overcame two interceptions and a fumble with three touchdown passes for Atlanta in a battle between two of the NFL’s worst teams.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: SUNDAY’S BEST

Quarterbacks Steve Young 27-41-393-3-2 Kerry Collins 22-37-327-3-0 Steve McNair 24-37-308-1-1

Running backs Barry Sanders 20-134-1 Bam Morris 21-117-0 Chris Warren 21-116-0

Receivers Michael Irvin 8-198-1 Antonio Freeman 9-175-3 Willie Green 7-157-1